Phil Mickelson Wins the British Open

ENLARGE

Phil Mickelson reacts to his birdie on the 18th hole at the British Open on Sunday.
Getty Images

By

John Paul Newport

Updated July 21, 2013 3:09 p.m. ET

GULLANE, Scotland—Phil Mickelson, who began play Sunday five shots behind third-round leader Lee Westwood, sneaked up on the field at Muirfield and finished with a rush—four birdies in his last six holes—to run away with his first British Open title.

With a final-round 66, he finished at 3 under par, the only player in the field to break par. Second-place Henrik Stenson of Sweden finished at even.

"It was the round of my life," Mickelson said. "It is a day I will remember all my life."

As Mickelson and his longtime caddy, Jim "Bones" Mackay, walked off the 18th green, there were tears in both men's eyes.

"If you work for a guy for 21 years, it's pretty cool when you see him play the best round of golf he's ever played in the last round at the British Open," Mackay said.

Mickelson now joins an elite roster of greats, including Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead, to have won three of golf's four major championships in their careers. Only five players have won all four: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.

Mickelson also won the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2010 and the 2005 PGA Championship. At the U.S. Open, his missing major, he has finished second six times, most recently in June at Merion.

Westwood, meanwhile, maintains his undesirable title as the best active player never to win a major.

He began Sunday's play at 3 under par, two strokes ahead of Woods and Hunter Mahan, and stayed at that mark through six holes while most of his competitors faded away. But on the par-3 seventh, he left a difficult bunker shot in the sand, leading to a bogey, and followed that with a bogey on the eighth.

He dropped two more strokes on the back nine and finished with a 4-over-par 75, four behind Mickelson in a third-place tie with Adam Scott and Ian Poulter.

"I didn't play badly, but I didn't play great. It's a tough golf course, and you've got to have your 'A' game," Westwood said. He had the fervent support of the British Open crowds here, but lost his momentum with the poor tee shot at No. 7—he said he chose the wrong club, in retrospect—and a failed gamble on his approach shot at No. 8.

Midway through afternoon play, it looked as if Poulter might be the tournament's Cinderella story. Starting eight strokes behind Westwood, he eagled the ninth and birdied 10, 11 and 12, to move to even par—at the time, just two off the lead.

But he missed a 10-foot birdie putt at the 13th and couldn't finish the deal. Still, he shot 67—the round of the day until Mickelson's 66. (Jason Dufner, well out of contention, also had a 67.)

Scott, too, made a move. He birdied No. 7, holed a bomb for birdie at No. 8, birdied the par-five ninth and took the lead by himself, at 2 under par, on the 11th hole with another birdie, from four feet.

But Scott, the reigning Masters champion, bogeyed four holes in a row starting at the 13th to take himself out of contention. "At that point, after that one, it was deflation, really, because I could see the scoreboard and your chances are dashed," he said.

Woods, who was the betting favorite to win when play began, seemed flat from the start and never mounted a charge. He bogeyed three of his first six holes and finished with a 74, 2 over for the championship and tied for sixth.

"I had a hard time adjusting to the greens," Woods said. "It was frustrating. I played well. I could just never get the speed right today." He left many of his longer approach putts short and missed several par-saving putts of the type—from five to 10 feet—that he used to specialize in.

Mickelson said he putted as well this week as he ever has, but also credited his victory here to his tuneup last week at the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, which he also won.

"It gave me some great links golf experience," he said. "I got to hit all the shots that we were playing today. Castle Stuart was very firm and fast, just like it was here at Muirfield."

Beginning the round as far back as he did, Mickelson said his initial goal was to make the turn at even par for the tournament, which he did on the button with a birdie at No. 9.

"Now it's a nine-hole competition and I'm right in the thick of it," Mickelson said. "I thought right around even, maybe 1-under would be enough to win the championship. And I felt I was playing well enough to shoot that on the back nine."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.